BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center recently announced that 119 teenagers from across Vermont have been recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for their exceptional artistic and literary talent.
Their award-winning artwork and writing will be exhibited at BMAC from Feb. 13 to March 2, culminating in an awards ceremony on Saturday, March 2, at noon. The awards ceremony is free and open to the public. Syndicated cartoonist Hilary Price will deliver a keynote address.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is a prestigious national recognition program for aspiring visual artists and writers. Each year, students in grades 7-12 are invited to submit art and writing in dozens of categories, including ceramics, digital art, painting, photography, poetry, science fiction, personal essay/memoir, and more.
Submissions are judged on a statewide level, and then some are considered for national awards, including college scholarships, museum exhibitions, and publication opportunities.
Statewide awards consist of Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention. This year's local Gold Key winners are listed below. A list of all Vermont award winners appears at www.brattleboromuseum.org. National awards will be announced by the end of March.
Since its founding in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have nurtured the talents and helped launch the careers of many creative visionaries. Past winners include Truman Capote, Lena Dunham, Stephen King, Sylvia Plath, John Updike, and Andy Warhol, among many others.
In 2014, Edil Hassan, a Somali refugee and high school senior from Burlington, joined that rarefied group, when she was selected as one of only 16 recipients nationwide of the Awards' highest honor, a Portfolio Gold Medal and $10,000 college scholarship.
BMAC has administered the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for Vermont since 2011. According to BMAC Exhibitions Manager Sarah Freeman, participation in the program has grown steadily since its inception. This year's award-winning work was selected from among a total of 559 submissions by 197 students from throughout the state.
Local 2019 “Gold Key” Winners: Miles Anton, Grade 10, Brattleboro Union High School; Anna Apilado, Grade 11, Putney School; Noa Bader, Grade 9, Putney School; Sophie Banks, Grade 10, Putney School; Steven Chen, Grade 11, Putney School; Alexandra Cody Engle, Grade 12, Vermont Academy; Miranda Fuller, Grade 12, Vermont Academy; Ethan Hubbard, Grade 12, Putney School; Sam Kendrick, Grade 12, Vermont Academy; Joseph Koes, Grade 11, Brattleboro Union High School; Grace Learey, Grade 10, Brattleboro Union High School; Molly Majer, Grade 11, Brattleboro Union High School; Christopher Rodes, Grade 11, Putney School; Eleanor (Nora) Rodes, Grade 11, Putney School; Cody Thurber, Grade 12, Vermont Academy; Yatong Tian, Grade 12, Putney School; William Xuan, Grade 12, Putney School; Lingwen Zhang, Grade 10, Putney School; and Lance Zhang, Grade 12, Vermont Academy.